A/59/PV.92 General Assembly

Members will recall that the General Assembly, at its 73rd plenary meeting, on 17 December 2004, adopted resolution 59/145, on the modalities, format and organization of the high-level plenary meeting of the sixtieth session of the Assembly. In connection with the two items before it, the General Assembly now has before it another draft resolution issued as document A/59/L.60. I should like at the outset to express to all delegations my deep gratitude for their support and their spirit of cooperation and understanding throughout the consultations on the draft resolution that I have submitted to the Assembly. I should also like to express my heartfelt congratulations to the two facilitators, His Excellency Mr. Eduardo Sevilla Somoza, Permanent Representative of Nicaragua, and His Excellency Mr. Johan Løvald, Permanent Representative of Norway, on their unfailing dedication and on all their efforts. As I mentioned during the open-ended informal consultations of the plenary held on 1 April 2005, the draft resolution’s main objective is to formalize those practical modalities for organizing the high-level plenary meeting that were not covered by resolution 59/145. The draft resolution contained in document A/59/L.60 is the result of members’ observations and comments on the text that they received on 1 April and of the intensive consultations that the two facilitators and I conducted over the past two weeks with Member States. What struck me throughout my discussions with Member States was their heightened sense of responsibility given their awareness that, above and beyond the practical organization of the September 2005 high-level plenary meeting, we must work together so that we can effectively meet the challenges and face the threats of our time. Members showed flexibility when it was imperative that we find a balanced solution, and I am grateful to them for that. I was also aware of the widely shared conviction that we must finalize the organizational aspects of the September 2005 high-level plenary meeting as swiftly as possible so that we can focus totally on substantive issues in the weeks and months to come. I should now like to draw attention to the main changes made to the text that we considered on 1 April. Of course, the changes are reflected in the draft resolution now before members. Members will note that subparagraphs (a) to (g) of the second preambular paragraph of the 1 April document — which recalled certain operative paragraphs of resolution 59/145 — have been deleted for the sake of conciseness, since that resolution is referred to specifically in the preambular part. In operative paragraph 1, the phrase “which should lead to the adoption of a balanced document” has been added at the end. Operative paragraph 2 has been rewritten and now reads: (spoke in English) “Welcomes the submission by the Secretary-General on 21 March 2005 of the comprehensive report entitled ‘In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all’”. (spoke in French) Paragraph 9 is new. With respect to paragraph 11, I would like to make a revision by adding the following phrase at the end of the paragraph: “taking into account the views expressed by Member States”. With that addition, and with the changes made to the 1 April text, paragraph 11 now reads as follows: “Requests the President of the General Assembly to continue to hold open, inclusive and transparent consultations with all Member States with a view to reaching the broadest possible agreement on all major issues relating to the High-level Plenary Meeting, taking into account the views expressed by Member States”. Paragraph 11 of annex I has been changed and now reads as follows: “Representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector, one from each grouping, selected during the informal interactive Hearings of June 2005, may also be included in the list of speakers for the plenary meetings of the High-level Plenary Meeting in consultation with the President of the General Assembly, time permitting”. Paragraph 13 of annex I is new. Turning now to annex II, paragraph 9 of that annex is also new. We conclude with annex III, whose paragraph 5 is new as well. Those are the main changes that have been made to the draft resolution. As I noted at the start of the meeting, those changes are the result of the consultations conducted by the two facilitators and me. With respect to paragraph 11 of annex I, I am convinced that this wording will in no way undermine the General Assembly’s desire for interaction with the representatives of non-governmental organizations and civil society and private sector organizations. I would request that any technical corrections necessary to harmonize the texts in the various official languages be conveyed to the Secretariat. The Secretariat will take note of them and take them into account when it publishes the resolution as document A/RES/59/291. I would like again to thank all Member States and the various groups for their great attention to the consideration of the draft resolution. I would also like to thank them for their important contributions and the excellent cooperation and willingness they demonstrated throughout the consultations. In adopting this draft resolution by consensus, as I encourage delegations to do, you will enable our respective leaders and States to be better prepared for the high-level plenary meeting of September 2005. May I take it that the General Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/59/L.60, as orally revised?

I call now on delegations wishing to explain their positions on the resolution just adopted.

Mr. President, first, we would like to thank you for your efforts in steering draft resolution A/59/L.60 towards adoption by consensus. We congratulate you on those efforts and trust that the consensus that we have reached on this resolution will be a strong precedent for our continuing to use the practice of achieving decisions by consensus in the process on which we are embarked to prepare for the September summit. I would also like to recognize the contributions and hard work of your two facilitators and to thank them for their cooperation. The Pakistan delegation has consistently held that it is essential to have full clarity about the process, the outcome and the decision-making related to the September high-level event. It was for that purpose that we suggested certain changes to the text as it was originally drafted. First, with regard to the objectives and priorities of the September high-level event, the first preambular paragraph of the resolution just adopted recalls resolution 58/291. We must all remember that in that resolution — specifically, in its paragraph 2 — we set out the objectives of convening the high-level event. By paragraph 2 of resolution 58/291 of 6 May 2004, the General Assembly decided that the major event would “undertake a comprehensive review of the progress made in the fulfilment of all the commitments contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, including the internationally agreed development goals and the global partnership required for their achievement, and of the progress made in the integrated and coordinated implementation, at the national, regional and international levels, of the outcomes and commitments of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, on the basis of a comprehensive report to be submitted by the Secretary-General”. My delegation and, I am sure, a large number of other delegations, will continue to be guided by that provision, which clearly affirmed the priority to be accorded to development at the forthcoming high-level event. Secondly, with regard to the process, this is the second, very crucial, phase of the preparatory process for the high-level event in September. The membership has received three key inputs in the shape of the High- level Panel report (A/59/565), the Millennium Project report (A/59/727) and the Secretary-General’s report (A/59/2005). But the process is now entirely an intergovernmental one. We believe that the outcome document should be based primarily on the inputs and proposals presented by Member States. During the current process, Member States will thus be presenting their views and inputs, and we hope that those inputs will become the basis for the broadest possible agreement, to which the resolution refers. We are grateful that the words “taking into account the views of Member States” have been added at the end of operative paragraph 11 in order to affirm the intergovernmental nature of the process. Thirdly, with regard to decision-making, it is also clear to my delegation that we will have to achieve the broadest possible agreement. We are seeking a new consensus for the United Nations, and that new consensus must be achieved by consensus. We therefore welcome the consensus adoption of the resolution. We have joined the consensus because we believe in consensus.

My delegation would like, first of all, to thank you, Mr. President, for introducing the new version of the resolution on preparation for and organization of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly. We note that the text incorporates new elements, some of which respond to the concerns expressed by some delegations. We believe, therefore, that it constitutes an improved version of the initial draft text that was submitted to us for consideration. Yesterday afternoon, shortly after we received a copy of the new draft text, the Cuban delegation sent to your Office a note containing number of amendments to it. We did so with a view to improving the draft and in the interests of coming up with language that would make it possible for the important September event to be held in a more open and inclusive format. It was our intention to present those amendments today for the consideration of other delegations and to have an open and transparent discussion about them. However, in response to a specific request from your Office, Sir, we decided not to submit those amendments. Through that gesture, Cuba is once again showing its respect for you and for what you represent, as well as demonstrating its great flexibility in the interests of the swift adoption of the resolution with a view to an immediate substantive discussion of the items that will be addressed by Member States during the September event. In conclusion, my delegation hopes that, henceforth, and in accordance with the mandate of the resolution, there will be genuine, open, inclusive and transparent consultations with all Member States on all important issues relating to the high-level plenary meeting.

I thank the representative of Cuba for his understanding.

The European Union, on whose behalf I am taking the floor, welcomes the adoption of the resolution on preparation for and organization of the September summit. We would like to express to you, Mr. President, and to the facilitators — the representatives of Nicaragua and of Norway — our sincere gratitude for their tireless work, and that of Member States, which enabled us to arrive, in a timely manner, at a draft text that we were able to adopt today by consensus. The European Union fully supports the approach that you, Mr. President, have suggested. The adoption of the resolution today will enable us to concentrate fully on negotiations on issues of substance, beginning on Tuesday next, under your leadership and with the guidance of the facilitators. As resolution 58/291 prescribes — and as recalled in subparagraph (f) of the second preambular paragraph of the President’s draft circulated on 1 April — the comprehensive report of the Secretary-General of 21 March (A/59/2005), which the European Union would like once again to welcome, provides the basis for our discussion of very important issues, which have been clustered thematically in that report. The European Union also welcomes the decision to open the summit to representatives of non- governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector, as was done in 2000 during the Millennium Summit. During consultations on the draft resolution, we took the opportunity to express emphatically, on several occasions, our preference for the greatest possible participation of such actors in the various segments of the September summit. In this respect, we would like to reaffirm the principle of the participation of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector in the summit’s plenary meetings. We are fully confident that you, Mr. President, will facilitate such participation. You can rest assured, Sir, that you, the facilitators, groups of States and individual States will continue to find the European Union an attentive participant that is firmly committed to ensuring that the September summit will achieve a far-reaching and balanced outcome.

Mr. President, we wish to thank you and your facilitators for the efforts you have made in preparing for and conducting the negotiations on this procedural resolution. My delegation joined the consensus on the resolution just adopted by the General Assembly on the understanding that this resolution is of a procedural nature and in no way affects or addresses matters of a substantive nature. Therefore, in our view, this resolution does not refer explicitly or implicitly to the content or the substance of the report of the Secretary- General entitled “In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all”.

By deciding to adopt this resolution by consensus, the General Assembly has just confirmed its staunch determination to move forward on the path towards the holding of the high-level plenary meeting in September 2005. We now know the practical organizational modalities and the general frame of reference for the high-level plenary meeting, at which our leaders will meet with a view to reaching agreement on the important decisions they will have to take in order to strengthen our Organization and to endeavour better to respond to the aspirations of our respective peoples for a more decent and a safer life, with full enjoyment of their freedom and their dignity. We thus have a good basis for work, since we have now agreed, in accordance with resolution 58/291, to conduct our consultations on the basis of the report of the Secretary-General. Of course, it is the views of Member States that will enable us to reach the broadest possible agreement on all major issues to which solutions must be found. That is obvious. We must now prepare to continue our substantive consultations as of 19 April. Towards that end, I addressed a letter to members yesterday, Thursday, 14 April, in which I specified both the timetable and the general guidelines for the informal thematic consultations. The 10 facilitators who will be conducting these consultations are completely available to respond to members’ concerns, and, of course, members should not hesitate to contact me directly whenever necessary. Lastly, I should like once again to recall the fundamental principle that has always guided us and which will continue to guide my work — that of conducting our consultations in a transparent, open and inclusive manner, be it be in the framework of consultations in plenary, or in informal consultations. The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda items 45 and 55.